Seattle Vs. San Diego (people) (neighborhood, theater, living)

[VeronikaW]

Originally Posted by LookingtoLeave

Do the transplants also tend to turn introverted and cold after being there for awhile? I'm asking b/c on the Seattle forum they make it sound like much of the Seattle population is transplants and if the transplants are the friendlier breed, you'd think Seattle in general would have a friendlier population. Just curious.

I'm not sure, as we haven't met any transplants that have been here longer than a year or 2. The transplants we have met, are the nice people.

V. =)

[boi2socal]

As I posted in another post Seattle has to be one of the rudest cities in the West. Service at restaurants, shops, etc and just people in general are horrible.

[alloriginals123]

Lived in San Diego from 90-07. Very expensive as you know it, great weather, kind of green if not compared to Washington but Phoenix. Washington is better in the job and small business market, but on the subject of housing, both are outrageous. Loved Seattle over San Diego in the spring/summer months because of the blossoms and clean air, it is like taking a picture with a professional camera compared to a cheap camera. San Diego is zonal which means that according to where you go, people change. For the most part, San Diego has the least of friendly and warm people I have met to be honest. This is not to say that I haven't met good people here because I have, but people here have no content in comparison to Washington. The women here dress like strippers. In Seattle, you have a classier typed dress women with an earthy vibe. Now since you have lived in San Diego, Seattle reminds me of Ocean Beach and Point Loma without the ocean and weather as far as people are concerned. The winters are mild and beautiful in Seattle, but the gray can get on your nerves sometimes. Take the gray in the winter away, and Seattle will beat San Diego any day. Better mountains, more hilly, major downtown, as you know, more scenic. Better border as in Canada! I like both. I would say, April-October in Seattle and October-April in San Diego. San Diego is beautiful in the winters. So my choice would be both if possible. But San Diego is a tourist town, no tourist, this is the deadest town on the planet! And the city street have went to naught, city is in need of a repair job, but it is something about San Diego that will draw you back eventually, that is why it is called the city of dreamers. Cheers.

[CityGirl72]

VeronikaW is from San D - she moved here in July...they are moving back

I'm originally from Santa Monica, (not the exact same I know) I would move to Calif in a heartbeat, but everyone on this board knows that. I can not handle the 10 months of crazy on again off again grey cloudy skies

[robertpolyglot]

Originally Posted by CityGirl72

VeronikaW is from San D - she moved here in July...they are moving back

I'm originally from Santa Monica, (not the exact same I know) I would move to Calif in a heartbeat, but everyone on this board knows that. I can not handle the 10 months of crazy on again off again grey cloudy skies

Hi City, another SM native as you know. My observation: a friend of mine lives in SD, so I've been often. I've never gotten a good vibe from the people.

Seattle - people are aloof

San Diego - people are friendly in that flakey beach community kind of way which is kind of useless to me

LA - people who aren't in "the industry," or in-waiting, are generally friendly

SF - people can be downright quirky, but I'm sure everyone can find their niche

Inland California - generally friendly, as this is "the Midwest" of California.

Have lived in Seattle, LA and Inland. Have visited SD and SF often.

[LookingtoLeave]

Originally Posted by Nick682

I have made my thoughts very clear in previous posts that I prefer Washington to San Diego and I have lived in both cities. I am going back to Seattle and leaving Cali for good after being back for 7 years but I am curious what others have to say about the two cities.

I am mainly interested in people who have lived in both cities and know allot about the differences in people, philosophies, interests, behavior, sociability, culture? Also maybe some differences regarding businesses and employment would be good. The home service business is big in SD, and I currently own a pool business here.

Thanks...

I know how you feel about SD people from reading your posts there, but do you not experience the Seattle freeze in SD? It's still a city I'm considering, but to hear the people here talk about the "coldness" of the residents in Seattle concerns me to be honest.

[la_fuerza]

Originally Posted by robertpolyglot

My observation: a friend of mine lives in SD, so I've been often. I've never gotten a good vibe from the people.

Yeah I know. SD is kind of a strange place. I've lived half my life in CA both in the Bay Area and LA. I have a friend she lives in Hillcrest so I've been to SD numerous times. There is something about San Diego that I can't put my finger on but the place has got strange energy. It kind of creeps me out. Also SD seems to produce alot of jerks. San Francisco as well as Seattle get a fair share of SD transplants and alot of those guys seem really full of themselves. It's strange to say but I think people in LA are actually nicer than people in San Diego.

[Rubyvroom]

I lived in San Diego from 2003 until a few weeks ago. While I feel that people on a personal level can be friendly but in a more general way I find that people in San Diego can be very self-centered. For example:

1. The drivers. They are nuts. Turn signals are used to mean either, "I just changed lanes," or, "I am going to change lanes RIGHT NOW and you better not be there when I do." In the defense of San Diego drivers you can't signal, look and then move because whoever behind you will speed up to block you. They also have no lane discipline. It is really common to see someone zig-zagging down the freeway at 90 tailgating everyone. San Diego has the worst drivers of anywhere I have lived. (San Francisco, L.A., Santa Barbara, Arizona, Florida, England and Germany)

2. The lack of awareness of walking as a means of transportation. This is displayed in a number of small ways like sidewalks that end suddenly or parking lots for strip malls set up with fences or hedges with no gaps so that someone can walk easily from one set of stores to another. Also drivers do not at all respect crosswalks. I have been yelled at or almost run over while crossing in a crosswalk with a green on multiple occasions in one of the most walkable neighborhoods in San Diego. Drivers simply don't do a good job here of looking out for pedestrians no matter who has the right of way.

3. San Diego can be really superficial. There are a lot of blond, tanned, stick-thin women with blindingly white teeth around. I got really tired of reading the weekly free paper and seeing pages and pages of cosmetic surgery/services ads.

Don't get me wrong. I have met some great people in San Diego and made a number of really good friends. The things I'm talking about above are general trends. Not everyone acts like this but enough people do that it's very noticeable.

[robertpolyglot]

Let's face it, such a stunning climate attracts hedonists. And hedonists generally aren't the sharpest tools in the shed.

[VeronikaW]

We moved from San Diego in June of 07 for my husband's job. We thought we'd be able to afford a house here. Any place here I'd want to live, the houses are just as expensive as San Diego (actually now they are more expensive because of CA's real estate decline).

I had awesome neighbors in CA, here my neighbors grunt at me when I greet them (this is not an exaggeration).

I'd say the economy and job market are pretty strong up here in Seattle. My husband updated his Monster resume almost a month ago, so he could try to find a job back in CA, and he still gets at least 2 calls a day from Seattle recruiters.

I found the people of San Diego to be a lot less superficial than say, the people of Orange County (where I grew up). They are definitely more superficial than the people of WA, which is good and bad. I've never seen a group of people that dress so casual as the people of Seattle. I swear I think 90% of the women are lesbians here, just because they dress like them. (I realize that 90% of the women are not, but really, why are there so many Harry Potter female look alikes here?) People just don't seem that concerned with their appearance here (maybe it's the weather?). I sort of miss the eye candy of CA. But don't get me wrong, I'm not dressing up.

In general I do not like WA. I find the people to be unfriendly, however, this probably would not bother me as much, if I didn't have a new baby. Moving 1200+ miles from family while pregnant was really dumb.

My husband has a couple CA interviews set up, but we've decided if he doesn't get one of these 2 jobs, we will stick it out in Seattle for 4 years, at which time he will get enough shares of stock to put down a huge down payment on a house in CA.

V. =)